NEWTOWN >> A sudden heavy downpour turned Saturday’s egg hunt into a wet and cold race, but it will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable hunts of all time.
First organized by Newtown Rotary, the stage was set for the first community egg hunt in two years with thousands of brightly colored eggs decorating the fields behind Goodnoe Elementary School.
But just minutes before the start of the age group hunts, the rain started to fall, leaving organizers scrambling for their next move.
As the rain fell harder and the umbrellas opened, organizers made the quick decision to start the hunt early and let everyone rush onto the field at once.
Within minutes, children and parents collected the 8,000 colored eggs, leaving organizers speechless at how quickly they disappeared.
In the end, shivering and wet children – and their parents – left the field with buckets, baskets and sacks overflowing with eggs.
Even those who arrived too late for the hunt were rewarded with handfuls of chocolate chunks donated by Sam’s Club, including miniature Milky Ways, Snickers, 3 Musketeer and Twix bars, and photos with the Easter Bunny.
A few lucky egg hunters who found a specially marked plastic egg won a $50 gift bag courtesy of Zebra Striped Whale, Paul Salvatore, Yoga-Mazia, Keller Williams Real Estate and Triple Sun Spirits.
“It’s okay,” incoming Rotary club president Mick Petrucci said of the rain as volunteers huddled in the prize tent. “They say April showers bring May flowers. Overall, even though it rained as soon as we left, people left happy. They took their eggs. Some children had more eggs they could never have imagined.
“We had a lot of sweets. We had a lot of support from our Rotary members to make this event a reality,” continued Petrucci. “Even with the rain, it was good to see people coming back for a community event that we unfortunately haven’t had in recent years.”
Rotarian Paul Salvatore added, “I would like to thank the volunteers who came out this morning to help with the installation. Everything worked fine except for the rain. Honestly, I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, we’ve had some weather issues, but nothing like it. It has just started to rain. If there had been a drizzle we would have held out as long as possible, but this was the first time we had done all of a sudden. We just had to get it over with and get it over with. But there is not a single egg out of the 8,000 that were on this field. Not one.”
“It’s good to keep the tradition alive. That’s what it’s all about,” added Petrucci. “It’s about bringing the community together for a happy and positive time. There is no agenda here. It’s just come, have fun and for many people it’s been a tradition forever.
Hosted by the Newtown Rotary Club, the Wet and Wild Hunt was sponsored by SERVPRO of Newtown and the Newtown Business Association.
